Travel Channel Deals Up Season Two of the Hugely Popular WORLD POKER... -- re>
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ --

Travel Channel Deals Up Season Two of the Hugely Popular WORLD POKER TOUR on Wednesday, March 3
Season Two Promises More of the Fast-paced, High-stakes

And High-anxiety Action that Made Season One The

Most Popular Series in Network History

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- The Travel Channel today announced
that the launch of season two of the WORLD POKER TOUR (WPT) premieres
Wednesday, March 3, 2004. The WORLD POKER TOUR airs Wednesday nights from 9-
11 PM (ET/PT), and will consist of 15 poker events filmed in casinos and card
rooms around the world. The series, the most popular on the Travel Channel,
continues to revolutionize televised poker. Through expert analysis, multiple
camera angles, and the patented WPT Cam -- which shows close-ups of the
players' hole cards -- the WORLD POKER TOUR has created a whole new element of
high-stakes, high-anxiety excitement.
"The WORLD POKER TOUR is all aces with viewers, and we are excited about
the launch of season two," said the Travel Channel's executive vice president
and general manager, Rick Rodriguez. "The WORLD POKER TOUR has reached
appointment viewing status, and has quickly become a cultural phenomenon.
With the launch of season two the Travel Channel will firmly entrench the WPT
brand as the best of televised poker. Moreover, the continued success of the
WPT provides a wonderful opportunity for the network to promote and market the
multitude of programming available on our air."
"In just one season, the WORLD POKER TOUR transformed poker into a
mainstream televised sports sensation. Season two takes the action, the
emotion and the cold hard cash to a whole new level," said executive producer
and founder of the World Poker Tour, Steven Lipscomb. "With over $30 million
in total prize money and millions at stake in each episode, television
audiences will continue to be drawn to the only sport on television that puts
them in a seat at the table -- making million dollar decisions on every hand."
The WORLD POKER TOUR continues to be a ratings winner for the network --
with the WORLD POKER TOUR LADIES NIGHT special scoring the highest rating ever
for the WPT series, and becoming the second highest rated individual program
in the network's history.
In addition to the high-stakes action on the tables, every week the WORLD
POKER TOUR series takes viewers to some of the most famous casinos and card
rooms in the world including: Bellagio in Las Vegas, NV; The Bicycle Casino in
Bell Gardens, CA; Borgata in Atlantic City, NJ; UltimateBet in Aruba; Bay 101
in Colma, CA; Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, CT; Horseshoe
Casino/Gold Strike Casino in Tunica, MS; Aviation Club de France in Paris,
France; Commerce Casino in Commerce, CA; Poker Stars aboard a Caribbean
cruise; and the Reno Hilton in Reno, NV.
The WORLD POKER TOUR series is produced for the Travel Channel by World
Poker Tour, LLC. Steven Lipscomb is the show's creator and serves as
executive producer. Joe Swift is the executive producer for the Travel
Channel. World Poker Tour, LLC is a joint venture between Lipscomb and Lakes
Entertainment, Inc. (traded on the NASDAQ as "LACO").
The Travel Channel is the only television network devoted exclusively to
travel entertainment. Capturing the fascination, freedom and fun of travel,
Travel Channel delivers insightful stories from the world's most popular
destinations and inspiring diversions. It is available in more than 74
million homes and is a service of Discovery Networks, U.S., a unit of
Discovery Communications, Inc.